Southampton legend Francis Benali finished his epic race for charity by running a lap of honor around Saint Mary's stadium during Southampton's match against Burnley on Sunday.
Benali's half time run #benalisbigrace #legend #saintsfc #cancerresearchuk pic.twitter.com/7rcF29kRn4
— Dan Wight (@danswight) October 16, 2016
Benali's arrival brings to a close a two-week journey, in which he ran a marathon every day (26.2 miles), cycled twice that distance and visited all 44 Premier League and Championship grounds. The target of Benali's Big Race is to raise more than £1,000,000 to be used towards cancer research. As of writing, he has raised £356,458.
Wow what a reception from #saintsfc fans #gofran #cruk @SouthamptonFC @CR_UK pic.twitter.com/eiAhLesdrL
— Benali's Big Race (@BenalisBigRace) October 16, 2016
In honor of Benali's arrival, the club set out 30,000 Benali masks around the stadium prior to their match with Burnley.
There's only one @FrannyBenali...
Okay, maybe not this afternoon! #saintsfc https://t.co/ZioaPNHnmF— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) October 16, 2016
This isn't the first time Francis Benali has put his body on the line for charity. Two years ago, Benali embarked on a similar trek, running 1,000 miles around all 20 Premier League grounds. He raised £265,433 with that challenge.
As Benali says on the official site for the challenge:
"The agony I will feel during this fortnight will be nothing compared to the pain of cancer sufferers and their families."
Never change Franny. Never change.
If you would like to donate to the cause, simply go here.
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